Graham was bothered by a wrist injury last year and had
surgery on it back in January. He "only" ended up with 85
receptions for 982 yards and nine scores. A drop from 2011
when he finished with 99-1310-11 but he still ranked 2nd or
3rd best in the NFL depending on league scoring. 2013 will be
a contract year and the Saints will wait until the end of the
season to start that negotiation which debates getting paid
like a tight end or like a wide receiver. Graham should be
healthy and motivated to have a big season.

Jason Witten - DAL

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 2

Keeper: 9Auction 10: 10%Auction 12: 12%

2010

DAL

16

94

1002

10.7

9

2011

DAL

16

79

942

11.9

5

2012

DAL

16

110

1039

9.4

3

Avg

16

94

994

10.7

6

0

0

0

Proj

DAL

88

950

6

Witten may be getting up there at 31 years of age but he
certainly is not slowing down. He led all tight ends last year
with 110 catches for 1039 yards and scored three times. All
that after starting the year as a question mark because of a
ruptured spleen that never really got in the way. He had a
career mark with 14 more catches than any other season. He
remains one of the lowest risk tight ends even though he may
have to share some with the rookie Gavin Escobar and at some
point will show his age. For the last six years, Witten has
been a lock for a top 5 season if not top 3.

Tier 2

Vernon Davis - SFO

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 3

Keeper: 3Auction 10: 6%Auction 12: 8%

2010

SFO

16

56

914

16.3

7

2011

SFO

16

67

792

11.8

6

2

-5

2012

SFO

16

41

548

13.4

5

Avg

16

55

751

13.8

6

1

0

0

Proj

SFO

65

740

8

(+Upside) What to expect from Vernon Davis? His stats took a nosedive
last year until Colin Kaepernick started. After one good game,
Davis disappeared almost entirely from the passing game. Just
when he had been completely written off, he topped 100 yards
in each of the last two playoff games including six catches
for 104 yards in the Super Bowl. The loss of Michael Crabtree
to injury for most of the year will likely help since
Kaepernick was getting
chemistry with his tight end at the end of 2012. Davis is
29 this season and should have one or two good years left. He
cannot be counted on as an elite tight end but he'll merit a
fantasy start from a position largely devoid of productive
players. Davis was one of the best fantasy tight ends from
2009 through 2011. He has some upside to reach that level
again.

Jared Cook - STL

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 4

Keeper: 4Auction 10: 6%Auction 12: 6%

2010

TEN

16

29

361

12.4

1

2011

TEN

16

49

759

15.5

3

2012

TEN

13

44

523

11.9

4

Avg

15

41

548

13.3

3

0

0

0

Proj

STL

57

850

6

(+Upside) Cook's best season was in 2011 when he caught 49 passes for
759 yards and three scores when he was last with Jeff Fisher.
2012 fell back to 44 receptions for 523 yards. Now Fisher has
acquired his favorite tight end for a whopping $38.5 million
over five years with $19 million guaranteed. That makes him
the sixth highest paid tight end in the NFL. Cook was a third
round pick by the Titans back in 2009 and his potential
remains open for more. He's 6-5 and 248 pounds and yet runs a
wideout-like 4.4/40. In trying to load up the offense with
more weapons for Sam Bradford, Fisher went out and bought Cook
at a very high price. Expect a new career mark for Cook who
will play with Bradford instead of Jake Locker.

Tony Gonzalez - FA

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 5

Keeper: 12Auction 10: 6%Auction 12: 6%

2010

ATL

16

70

656

9.4

6

2011

ATL

16

80

875

10.9

7

2012

ATL

16

93

930

10.0

8

Avg

16

81

820

10.1

7

0

0

0

Proj

FA

82

800

6

They managed to coax him back for one final shot at a ring.
And why not? Granted, Gonzo is 37 years old but he comes off
his best season in the last four years when he caught 93
passes for 930 yards and scored eight times. His stats were
lower in the second half of last year though and he only had
one game over 65 yards in the final nine games. But he scored
four times in the final eight games and even scored in both of
the playoff games. Maybe not a ton of upside here, but the
age-less wonder is a lock to remain one of the better fantasy
starters.

Rob Gronkowski - NEP

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 6

Keeper: 2Auction 10: 6%Auction 12: 6%

2010

NEP

16

42

546

13.0

10

2011

NEP

16

90

1327

14.7

17

1

2

1

2012

NEP

11

55

790

14.4

11

Avg

14

62

888

14.0

13

0

1

0

Proj

NEP

72

740

7

(-Risk) Gronkowski not only broke his forearm but surgeries to add
plates resulted in an infection. He needed a fourth operation
on his arm and should be ready for week one even if he misses
some of training camp. If the infection was to reappear, his
status for the season could be in jeopardy. With the loss of
Wes Welker, Gronk's role as a possession receiver is even more
important. This is definitely one player to watch and ensure
he is healthy and ready to play because he could have yet
another big year. In May, doctors said the infection was
finally gone. He also needed back surgery but is expected to
be ready at least by week one. Gronkowski makes for the
ultimate risk/reward player this year. If he is healthy and
stays healthy, he is a lock to be a huge difference maker in
tight end. If not - you have to waste an early draft pick.

06-15-13 Update: Gronk had back surgery this week and there are six weeks of
recovery and then six more to regain strength and
conditioning. That makes the season opener in jeopardy and
he'll no doubt miss training camp time. He may miss part of
the season. He's a very risk draft pick until more certainty
exists and the Patriots are hardly known for being
forthcoming about the status of any player.

08-05-13 Update: Gronkowski still has not put on a uniform yet and there is
speculation he may start the year on PUP. He's just too big of
a risk to take.

Jermichael Finley - FA*

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 7

Keeper: 6Auction 10: 3%Auction 12: 5%

2010

GBP

5

21

301

14.3

1

2011

GBP

16

55

767

13.9

8

2012

GBP

16

61

667

10.9

2

Avg

12

46

578

13.0

4

0

0

0

Proj

FA*

65

750

4

Finley enters a contract year and is coming off a
disappointing season where he fell from his 55-767-8 stat line
of 2011 to only 61-667-2 last season. He recorded a career low
of just 10.9 yards per catch but the plan is to use him more
lined up in the slot or out wide since Greg Jennings is gone.
The reality is that Finley was not that different last year
than any other than 2011 which featured career marks in yards
and scores along with most of the rest of the NFL that year.
Even in his best year ever he only ranked 10th among tight
ends and 12th last year. He remains a low-end tight end
starter.

08-01-13 Update: Finley has had a great camp so far and drawn good reviews.

Tier 3

Greg Olsen - CAR

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 8

Keeper: 5Auction 10: 3%Auction 12: 5%

2010

CHI

16

41

404

9.9

5

2011

CAR

16

45

540

12.0

5

2012

CAR

16

69

843

12.2

5

Avg

16

52

596

11.4

5

0

0

0

Proj

CAR

64

670

5

Olsen had a break-thru season in 2012 when he ended 4th in the
NFL in tight end receiving yards (843) along with 69 catches
and five touchdowns. He started the season much better than he
ended. His final seven games produced right around 50 yards in
each and he scored just twice in that time. Olsen provides
solid consistency for a tight end and there's plenty of
fantasy value in that. But he's unlikely to improve on those
numbers because the Panthers need to run the ball more often
and better. And much of Olsen's success came earlier in the
season when Newton was being overwhelmed by the playbook which
had been expanded too quickly. That led to more dump-off
passes to the tight end. Solid but not a difference maker for
a fantasy team.

Antonio Gates - SDC

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 9

Keeper: 11Auction 10: 3%Auction 12: 3%

2010

SDC

10

50

782

15.6

10

2011

SDC

13

64

778

12.2

7

2012

SDC

15

49

538

11.0

7

Avg

13

54

699

12.9

8

0

0

0

Proj

SDC

60

640

5

Gates turns 33 and after 11 seasons he is a lock for the Hall
of Fame. What he is not a lock for is a big season this year
or ever again. He has not played a full season since 2009 and
while his chronic foot problems seemed better last year, he
still suffered a rib injury and ended with 49 catches for 538
yards for the lowest totals since his rookie season in 2003.
He also produced a career worst 11.0 yards per catch which has
been on the decline since 2010. Last year the Chargers needed
Gates worse than ever and he responded with only one game over
59 yards. He had scored in only three games through week 14
until ending the year with a score in each of the last three
games - though never more than 44 yards in any of them. He has
a name and the Chargers need him again. But it is a risk
better to allow someone else to take.

Jordan Cameron - CLE

YEAR

TM

GMS

CAT

CYD

YPC

CTD

CAR

RYD

RTD

Huddle Rank: 10

Keeper: 8Auction 10: 3%Auction 12: 3%

2010

2011

CLE

8

6

33

5.5

2012

CLE

14

20

226

11.3

1

Avg

11

13

130

8.4

1

0

0

0

Proj

CLE

60

640

5

(+Upside) Cameron may end up as everyone's favorite sleeper tight end
and it could be justified (though less likely to make him a
value pick). The Browns offense is now directed by OC Norv
Turner and HC Rob Chudzinski who together can claim some
responsibility for the success of Kellen Winslow, Antonio
Gates and Greg Olsen. Just last season, Chudzinski saw Olsen
go from a career blocker in Chicago to posting a stat line of
69-843-5 in Carolina as one of the most productive TE's in the
NFL. Cameron enters his third season but has only 26 catches
and one touchdown so far. That is certain to ramp up sharply
this season as the 6-5 receiver will be used in multiple ways
to help the offense. Cameron is definitely one to watch but he
only managed 16 catches in his one season at tight end at USC.
He's only worth taking as a backup to see what develops.